'Hamlet 2' a trippy, uneven comedy
Last Updated on 12/4/2008
Published on 9/4/2008
By Meredith Carter
Religious people everywhere, prepare to be shocked, offended and possibly horrified: Led by zany Brit Steve Coogan, "Hamlet 2" offers an entirely new -- and, ahem, unorthodox -- answer to an age-old question: What would Jesus do?
Apparently, in the age of post-modernist (or is that post-post-modernist?), revisionist student theater, he'd don a pair of beat-up Levis and join some poodle skirt-wearing groupies for a rousing rendition of "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus." Or perhaps he'd rework Elton John's "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" into a sweeping orchestral arrangement performed by -- who else? -- a Tucson-based all-gay men's choir.
Still, don't go thinking "Hamlet 2" is some kind of message movie out to undermine the basis of Western Christianity. No, this is a movie out for laughs of any kind, and the writers (one, Pam Brady, helped produce "Team America") let no potential target -- school district politics, arts education, etc. -- emerge unscathed. Taking so many shots, though, means there are a few misses, which makes "Hamlet 2" feel a little uneven. But Coogan's unruly performance makes it all worthwhile.
The storyline is near faultless: Observe Dana Marschz (the superb Coogan), a washed-up, talentless actor -- his biggest part involved getting killed on "Xena: Warrior Princess" -- who decides to teach drama at a Tuscon high school.
His job is boring, his marriage (to Brie, played by a droll Catherine Keener) is boring, his plays (based on such seminal films as "Erin Brockovich") are boring, his life is boring. Then he gets an unexpected boost: When a host of other clubs get cancelled, enrollment in his all-white, all-preppy class triples. To fire up his new students (dubbed "ethnics" by his frightened teacher's pets) and keep drama from getting axed from the curriculum, Marschz creates "Hamlet 2," a wacky sequel to Shakespeare's buzzkill original that involves Hamlet discovering a time machine, which he uses to implore Jesus to revive Gertrude, Laertes and Ophelia. Principal Rocker (Marshall Bell) does his best to cancel the play, but then an ACLU lawyer (the divine Amy Poehler) smells a First Amendment case. Thus, the show, as it were, must go on, leading to various offensive musical numbers, including one that even outdoes the "Everyone Has AIDS" ditty from "Team America: World Police."
In the earliest scenes, before the students perform "Hamlet 2," the movie sputters and stalls a bit, unable to find a comfortable comic rhythm. Coogan scores most of the laughs early on, as he goes to enormous lengths to get his students' attention (i.e., kicking metal trashcans, taking them barhopping, rollerskating around campus). Here is a man who's seen "Dangerous Minds" and "Mr. Holland's Opus" one too many times and believes he can apply those plots to his students. He's maddeningly clueless but he means well, and so Coogan holds our attention even when the jokes fall flat. He gets some help from Keener, whose dry wit is a nice counterpoint to Coogan's overwhelming energy.
The good news is that "Hamlet 2" hits its stride once Marschz and his class stage their first performance. Then the young actors -- including Joseph Julian Soria as Octavio, a rebel-type with early acceptance to Brown -- get to sink their teeth into the impossibly crazy acid trip of a play that is "Hamlet 2." The musical numbers alone are worth the ticket price; just try to get "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus" out of your head.
Given the subject matter of the movie's catchiest song, "Hamlet 2" is bound to ruffle a few feathers. (Jesus in a tank-top -- what? A song about rape -- excuse me?) But its just that kooky, anything-goes approach -- coupled with Coogan's comic turn -- that might make "Hamlet 2" a "Monty Python" for the "High School Musical" set.
Grade: B-
